Compared to WEA, the world’s leading and largest alliance of evangelicals, Church Together has a much younger history of just two years. It is a grassroots effort to mobilise North American churches to partner with African churches on combating HIV/AIDS.
"Churches Together is responding to God’s call to North American churches to join African churches in action that transforms lives and communities devastated by HIV/AIDS through a wholistic expression of the gospel of Jesus Christ," the group’s statement states.
The new direction of Rev Edmonds can be traced through his ongoing interest on grassroots movements among evangelical churches in the issue of AIDS relief, according to the Christian Post newspaper.
During an interview last week, Rev Edmonds said, "On the AIDS issue, it’s very interesting what’s happening right now in our world and in the US."
"What we need to see with HIV/AIDS is that this is like having a tsunami taking place every week on a continual basis. The latest statistics said that by the year 2025, 25% of the world’s population will be infected. So this could be one of those issues where the world will wake up and say we need to address this is a multi faced way," he seriously addressed the threat of AIDS to the world.
"I believe that biblically we have been given a mandate," Rev Edmonds continued to speak about his vision, "I’m convinced that the church, evangelicals and followers of Christ, are called to be Jesus’ instruments of reconciliation and restoration. The followers are called to bring life, not just spiritually, but in all aspects of life. The best way for this to happen is for churches to begin at the grassroots and by nation."
In a statement released on 24th January, Rev Edmonds said he has high hopes for the future of Churches Together.
This combines "[my] passion for functional partnership of the Body of Christ and extending the Church of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. Local churches are the sustaining instruments of God for wholistic transformation of communities and nations. I am excited and hopeful as we look to the future," said Rev Edmonds. "The Lord is doing a new thing in the church in which I want to participate."
Meanwhile, the two chairpersons of the Churches Together have greeted Rev Edmonds with a note of warm welcome.
Churches Together co-chairpersons, Tom Correll, Wooddale Church in Minneapolis area, and Tim Neet, Perimeter Church in Atlanta area, said, "We are pleased that God has led someone of Gary’s calibre and experience to Churches Together; it’s another sign among many that God in His mercy and justice is raising a collaborative movement of churches in North American and Africa to address the AIDS pandemic."
"The selection of Edmonds for the Executive Director position is a strategic key to the development of Churches Together and links to the expansion of its North American church base. The expansion is based on a platform of developing North American-African church based AIDS ministry models with scheduled metropolitan and regional mobilization meetings," the group said in a statement.
Board member Geoff Tunnicliffe, of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, who is also on the North American board of the WEA, said, "while this is a loss for the WEA, it allows Gary to pursue his life mission of leading transformation through churches working together."